Hey, I started a blog a lil while ago but was kinda hoping for more feedback and stuff than I got, leaving me a little demotivated.

So I'm gonna copy a few posts on here each day until it catches up, think im on about day 18 now.

so yeh, get involved!



Intro

Hi

I'll be honest, I don't really know what I'm doing. I've never written a blog before (always considered them kinda geeky) and I'm not a great writer, but I thought that maybe having a online community to report to might keep me on track to clearing my skin and maybe you can offer me tips and advice along the way.

So here’s a lil background info about me

I'm 20 (almost 21), male, live in the South of England and have suffered from acne since the age of 12. The problem is that I'm pretty lazy and as soon as my skin starts to look half decent I relax and stop treating it as much as I should. Like allot of guys my age I drink too much alcohol, eat too much junk food and don’t get enough sleep.

Over the past 2 years I have thrown a crazy amount of money at "treatments" for acne, the most expensive being an Nlite treatment at the private clinic in Harley street. Think I paid about £800 for 3 sessions (although they did give me 5 in total) and they also kept giving me free benzyl peroxide, moisturiser etc.....but it still didn’t work so waste of money, DON'T DO IT!!!!
I believe in the method of Nlite, but with such huge gaps in-between each treatment it has no effect.

I went travelling 2 years ago and returned with perfect skin (I'll try and get a pic up here). I'm not sure if it was the heat of the countries I was staying in, the sunlight or the sea water but it definatly had a great effect......which is why I thought I would take a risk with the Beauty Skin light.

My light should arrive tomorrow so that’s when I'll start my blog.......I've also just ordered £90 worth of skin care products which I'll be using alongside the light (will give more info of full routine later).

I'll try and update you every few days and throw in a few pics too.

feel free to comment.

Today I officially declare War on Acne!

Been browsing this website for reviews on what products I should buy.

*** Check my signature for updated regimen products***
Currently I'm using:
Purpose Gentle Cleanser
DDF BP5% with Tree Oil
Olay (Combination/Oily) Lotion with SPF15

St.Ives Apricot Scrub Acne/Oil ( In the shower )

Skin Type:
Asian (Tan, I live in Cali lol... ), Combination Oily I would say, after a couple hours in the day my face would start to build up oil around my nose, cheeks, chin, and forehead. I need like 2-3 oil absorbing sheets ... Kind of annoying you might say.

Acne Condition:
Moderate, I get 2-4 pustules a day it seems, it's lame... and I have scars everywhere before of it. there are blackheads on my nose, but that doesn't bother me much. Oh and milia around my eye has been with me since forever I used to tweeze them, but it just hurts. Worried about my acne first before I bother with the milia under my eyes.

Make-up:
When I go out, I put on Bare Essential mineral make-up ( This stuff if GREAT ) just don't put on toooo much or you'll look like a powdered cookie. It covered most of my scars and reduces the redness. (Oh I use C.Dior make up oil remover when I take it off, can't find this at places anymore, not even at the airport stores.)

Food:
I don't really restrict myself on anything lol. I drink soda, eat chips, fries, mashed potatoes... I believe food shouldn't have a major effect on your skin unless you're having too much of something ? ( Note*** I don't like chocolate, don't drink, no drugs, or don't smoke.)

Habits:
I spend most of my day in front of the laptop. I'm told the computer screen is "Bad" for my skin ? I don't think so... when I was on vacation for a week my skin was just the same and I spent like maybe 1hr in front of any type of screen.

I'm 18 and I've been using Proactiv for... who knows how long... maybe 2 years? It did help "control" my acne like other have mentioned, but it didn't prevent new breakouts here and there. I even ordered the "Advanced Blemish Control ( 6% BP)" but that pretty much did nothing for me. I went to get a facial or two a month before, and the facialist just told me it's a hormonal thing. I stopped going since she advised me to use Murad which I did... and I broke up horribly.

Just trying out a "simple" regimen... I don't like using 6-8 things a time just to take care of my face and feel a bit more confident about myself... I think Proactive might of been too strong on my skin since I keep have a little break out here and there. I just don't know what's wrong, out of everyone I know only one other person at my age is suffering from acne like me.

Day1:
Cutting down to using simpler products like Purpose a BP and a Lotion day and night. Few days ago (since it's Summer) I let a few pustules grow and pop themselves so scarring wouldn't happen around my mouth area. But hey ! What do you do if you're going to go out or have date, can't do that all the time. But while doing that using the regimen, I noticed other pustules beginning to form and my skin was oily throughout the day . When I was staying at my boyfriend's place ( long distance relationship ) , I would use RareMinerals ( a Bare Essentials product ) mineral therapy, it's just loose mineral powder I put over after lotion so it would reduce redness, it had 4% sulfur. It's embarrassing for him to see my "real face" under the make-up with all my scars and red bumps, and at those pustules. He tells me I'm beautiful anyway, which just makes my day . After coming home from my vacation at his place, I started using my regimen above. ( I was using proactiv while on vacation, and took forever in the bathroom which I felt bad since he takes like 5 minutes tops.... ) Just used the RareMinerals again since my acne was looking for red than usual. I see some improvements . Thinking about going out today and buying for of that RareMineral stuff since I'm going low. I just want clear and smooth skin .

Two pics of both sides of my face, at bumps and all the ugly stuff.

Any comments about my regimen would be helpful, I just want something "simple" to be honest, nothing that takes like 30 minutes just cleanse>treat>moisturize

So- where to begin? Facts, I think.

Current Age: 14yrs 7 months
Gender: female
Age Acne started: 12.5 yrs when it was only very, very mild *sigh*
Acne Severity now: mild to moderate before menstruating
Acne suspected causes: Menstruation cycle, heredity, hormonal imbalance (being a teenager with crazy hormones and all )
Heredity: Yes, mum said she had acne from [about] age 13-18. Dad-mild I think.

And what I've previously tried:

Tea Tree Oil (TTO)

- helps but does not prevent acne to full extent
- Grandpa told me it's like 'mild': only kills bacteria for max. of half a minute
- I tried/still am trying swiping a liquid of about 5% TTO and 75% water on face 2 or 3 times daily
-> have been doing consistently for 3 weeks now
- did use TTO 100% as spot treat a while ago - very shiny/oily face

Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)

- drinking 10mL /8 ounces (which is 250mL or one cup measurement) rain water.
-> have been doing this consistently for 1 month now
- healed scabs and sores of my body faster (who doesn't fall once in a while? )
- less of a breakout come menstruating
- heals pimples faster
- not doing so great at preventing pimples though

Neutrogena Skin Clearing Cleanser/Mask with salicylic acid and natural clay minerals

- doesn't say how much SA in it, I rang up the Johnson and Johnson company to ask- they couldn't tell me because 'it's like a secret recipe' depending on how much SA you put, something like that
- I suspect there is less than 2% or even 1% because don't they have to say if it's 2% (max legal amount) as a warning? Maybe even less than 0.5% because Clean & Clear's moisturizer says it has 0.5% SA (written on the package of the product).
- feels good on skin
- not sure it prevents acne too much - haven't been using this consistently

--> friend has, and she still has mild acne.
- feels like that after-swimming feel on face- clean but...missing natural facial oil?
- just a side note: I think this is only sold in Australia? I couldn't find any reviews on it.

I'll write more later,
things to do.

Gabby

Hi everyone, I've been an anonymous forum reader for a long time now, and just now have I decided to finally register. As my name implies, I haven't been able to stop thinking about sulfur. I've tried everything for my acne, from benzoyl peroxide (which I'm allergic to) to overdosing on Vitamin B5 pills.

I'm now using sulfur to treat my acne. I'm using a soap bar that contains 10% sulfur and 3% salicylic acid that I got for $4.99 off the internet. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links.

I started using it on 11/27/07. It's now been 9 days. So far, I'm seeing good results in both my facial and body acne. This is surprising, since I'm used to using at least three products at once. Pimples are still popping up, but are less frequent and do not take as long as they used to go away.

I really hope this is the answer to my prayers!

EDIT: I no longer use sulfur. My current regimen is always in my signature.

.

This is going to be long, but I hope at least ONE person reads it

It took a lot out of me. Waking up every day for so many years and looking in the mirror at such a horrible acne-ridden face was disheartening. Going to school, my peers weren't exactly kind to me with such an obvious skin condition, even though some of them suffered from mild acne themselves. I suppose mine was more severe than others, and to be honest, I don't think I ever saw someone who had it worse than me in any of my classes. When I graduated from high school, my face wasn't getting any clearer. In fact, it was getting worse. Not only was it spreading on my face (not just the "T" zone, where I usually got it, but now on the cheeks and jaw-line, and even some on the neck) but it was also slowly progressing to my back, where new acne was the most painful. After my first year of college, I decided that enough was enough. For years I had tried EVERYTHING under the sun to clear up my face. I spent thousands of dollars over the years trying to find something that would work, and it seemed nothing would. I went to several dermatologists, but they all recommended the same pills and topical treatments, which did nothing for me except made my skin dry and nasty. I tried specialty stores, local stores, and other places, searching for something that would help, but nothing worked. I never tried ProActiv because I didn't want to bother, and my best friend used it for years, and did nothing for him.

Now, I'm mainly of Italian descent, so my skin (especially the skin on my face) and hair is very greasy/oily. I understand that that is where most of my problems come from with my acne troubles. I needed to control the oil on my face, and to do that, I needed several things. I looked into Accutane, but unfortunately for me, I've been diagnosed with "depression" and so I was unable to use it. I thought I was never going to get rid of the horrible redness and pimpleness that was my face. However, starting about a year or two ago, I met a girl who I really liked (and am with now) and it was because of this that started my search for the right treatments to fix my face.

It started out simple. I washed my face in the morning the usual way, with a very gentle soap. After washing my face, I used rubbing alcohol (I've read several bad things about it, but I've never had a problem with it) on existing spots, but ONLY on existing spots. I then used witch-hazel and waited until that dried to then use dermabrasion pads. That was it. I did that for about a year and it didn't seem to help, though existing pimples did go away faster, the red marks left behind were bad, and it didn't help prevent anything.

So, back in February, I started looking up different vitamins and natural aids for acne prevention and treatment. I was extremely skeptical about it all because of what Accutane is (basically an overdose of vitamin A) and what the vitamins might do to my system. I mean, all I really wanted to do was to clear up my face, I didn't want anything bad to happen in the process though. So, I looked and I looked and eventually I decided to give in to the vitamins.

I started my major treatment in May. I washed my face twice a day (morning and night) and did the same routine as stated earlier (Alcohol, witch-hazel and dermabrasion pads), but then I added coritsone cream, a vitamin E oil, and a scar treatment called PerferOn (I actually felt embarrassed to buy it, because of the commercials and its reputation...as it seemed like a gimmick, but I swear to you, this stuff actually helps, A LOT...at least for me, or for people with small scars). Then, at night, I applied a zinc oxide "cream" that you can buy at CVS to existing acne. You can only do this at night though (or when there aren't people around the house) since it doesn't rub in and doesn't wash off easily either. Be aware, you should wear old clothes when using it too, it rubs off easily.

During the day, I took four vitamin E pills that were 400 IUs each. That may seem like a lot, but I had really bad redness, and my overall skin was bad, but it helped a lot. Along with that, I took B5 (yes, I know, there's a lot of topics about this stuff out there already). I only took about 5 grams of it, though, even though they recommend 10 grams. I didn't want to have THAT much of an overdose, because even 1 gram is a major OD. I also took 1000mg's of Biotin, once a day...twice if I felt like it.

I did this every day, and still am doing it today, though my acne is pretty much completely gone. I've downsized my B5 intake to only 1 gram a day, and so far no major breakouts have happened. Obviously the dosage is different for everyone, but I strongly recommend it. Occasionally (during exam weeks or something) I'll get a breakout on my chin, but that's just nerves.

I watch what I eat a lot now. I look for foods that are high in protein, since that can also help, and sometimes foods that are high in fat, since that can help with the absorption of vitamin E (plus, I'm really thin, so I could use it...). I try to stay away from junk food as best I can (though everyone indulges a little every now and then) and I started mixing fruit-drinks, so of course the healthy foods probably helped out a lot with my acne as well.

So in sum, my regimen consists/consisted of: Rubbing alcohol on existing spots ONLY, witch-hazel, dermabrasion pads, cortisone cream, vitamin E oil, PreferOn (three times a day), 5 grams (now 1 gram) of vitamin B5, vitamin E pills (4, 400IU's), 1000mgs of biotin and zinc oxide cream at night.

This combination helped me A LOT, and after 7 years of acne, I'm pretty much acne-free. I never thought I'd have a clear face, nor one that was even SLIGHTLY clear, but this helped a lot. I kept to it, and in the beginning, it didn't look like it was going to help, but I kept going, and it actually did. I encourage people to try this at least for 2 or 3 months and see how it works. It helped me a lot...

Oh, and, I also bought these oil-absorption pads from CVS, and I carry them around during the day to wipe my face, and clear it of the excess oil. So that helps as well.

Good luck! Sorry this is so long.

I don't know if you guys have read my posts, but most of them support the cause that if you have acne ONLY on your face (mild-moderate), it is quite treatable either with natural remedies or with the basic skin care survival kit.

What I've realized is that my acne only comes below my beard line, and anything above my beard line I rarely get acne in. To give you an example of where exactly my acne would be, look at this picture:

http://www.funmunch.com/celebrities/actors...hay_kumar_3.jpg

So it's only along the cheeks area right before my line ends and the other areas that I shave (moustache, chin) that I get pimples. Scratch that; WHITEHEADS. On the other parts of my face I get "normal" pimples that go away quickly without noticing it much. Only on the bottom half do I get persistent whiteheads.

My theory is that I constantly get whiteheads because I have over-dried my face night after night using topicals in those areas for the past 5 years while I haven't used anything on the upper part of my face and managed to stay clear in those non-treated parts. I wake up every morning to flaky skin on the lower part of my face while the top half is perfectly moisturized. I moisturize the bottom half but by the end of the day it ends up looking really oily since it was really dry in the morning and my skin has to compensate by releasing more oils.

So, what I'm going to do from now on is only use water to wash my face at night, and I'll only splash water on my face when it's necessary during the day. I go to the gym, so perhaps after I come back I will use Cetaphil (with TT oil mixed in) because I don't want any dirt or w.e, but for as much as I can, I will avoid using a cleanser.

I treat my acne with absoultely nothing topically, and have been doing so since June of 2008. I stopped benzamycin (though it worked) and my face is not nearly as dry as it once was after I wake up and take a shower. The only reason that it has recently been dry lately was because I've been applying TT oil as spot treatments to my troublesome areas, which I've realized is the same thing as putting any other drying topical on.

So, I'm going cold turkey and only using water as much as I can. Sometimes I will need cleanser obviously, but most people I know don't even use a cleanser and have a clean face so I'm not really sure if it makes a difference.

If anyone wants to try this along with me, they are more than welcome to. I will give updates every couple of days because while I do get the occasional cyst, my acne is mostly whiteheads that I generally rip away with a tissue lol. It's somewhat bad, but I've seen worse. I'm going to follow my Dad's advice and try to use water (and diet and proper sleep) as my best line of defence. Here goes!

Oh, and the guy in the pic is obviously not me but I people have said that I resemble him facially so I figured I might as well use him as an example. I was just using his beard line as a reference point lol.

Hi everyone!
I'v been suffering from Acne from the age of 11 and im 21 this March. I think the reason for my Acne is hereditary because from wht i hear from my mother she had tons and tons of acne thru her teenage and he adult life. The one thing that gives me hope is that she is all cleared out now...but she does have some scars. She keeps telling me that i will grow out of it (like her) but i dont want to just not do anything abt my acne.
Iv been to a cpl of dermatologists and they gave me a variety of cream and Gels. It was always like use two gels on alternative nights. I was never asked to do anything to my skin in the day.
Even though this did not completely clear my acne...it did help reduce the breakouts.
Its safe to say that i pick my acne all the time...and due to think i do hav tons and tons of red marks.
Iv realized that wht i was doing was just making my condition worse...so iv given up touching my skin (well almost!).

My Current Regime:

*Use Nivea Visage Purifying water cleanser (twice-after i wake up and before i go to bed)


*I apply Clingard Gel


and Sotret gel


on alternate nights.

*I do use Nivea Gentle scrub probably once a week!

This dosnt seem to be doing anything great for my skin. It does keep my Acne at bay...but not all the time. So its safe to say its not very effective.

Iv read Dan's regime and im definitly going to give it a try. any suggestions on wht moisturizer to use? and can i use the nivea cleanser for the regime?

Hey everyone! I thought I would start a log to document what improvement I may have with Face Reality Skincare in CA. I'm a long distance client, so this should be interesting. However, all my contact with them has been great so far...they're very helpful!

I started my regimen on November 11, 2008. You can see it all below in my signature. Right now I don't have any inflamed acne (although my regimen is geared toward that), so I'm interested to see if/when my uninflamed acne will go away. I have very mild acne (most of the time), but when it goes bad, it goes REALLY bad!

I washed my face with the whole regimen for the first time this morning, and I must say that it felt rather good. That's about all I can say as of now though - LOL! I'll update more in a couple/few days.

I've been researching skin care for nearly a year now, since I became interested in clearing my skin. After jumping on various bandwagons since joining the forum I've come to realize that the only time my skin is actually clear is when I stick to simple, common sense.

So recently I went to an esthetician for a facial, and after examining my face I was informed that I don't actually have acne, my problem is "congested" skin....resulting in comedones. So, my experiments with antibacterial products were unsuccessful because I really wasn't treating the problem. This was helpful because it led me back to my common sense approach....What my skin needs is a mild cleanser moisturizer and most importantly an Exfoliator.

The cosmetics cop, Paula Begoun, suggests using beta hydroxy acid (aka salicylic acid) as an exfoliant for acne prone skin, since it is lipid soluble, thus it can clean down into the pore. Since it exfoliates it is also supposed to help clear up dark spots. I've read that SA cleansers don't really do the trick because they aren't left on long enough, so I've decided to use a gel formula. It's funny...in all my years of searching for treatments I've never used SA as more than a wash.

So after doing a bunch of reading, and checking reviews as well as sticking with what worked in the past, here's my regimen:

Edited on April 20, 2006 It's just Simplified

AM:

-Wash with Spectro-Jel (my staple gentle cleanser) or just rinse w/ water
-Occasionally Exfoliate with a Scrub (St Ive's or Baking Soda )
-Moisturize w/ Dove ONLY if my skin feels dry RARE, or sometimes before make-up


PM:
-Wash with Spectro-Jel
-Usually Exfoliate(varies as above)
-Apply Neutrogena Clear Pore Treatment (2% Salicylic Acid) BEST product I've ever used for my skin


Miscellaneous:

-Clay mask to absorb oil (St. Ive's Firming or Freeman's Clay and Avocado)
-No dairy products, healthy diet
-Lots of water

Well i went to the doc today and he gave me this (doxycyline / benzaclin clindamycin-benzoyl peroxide gel) and 1 other med i couldn't get because my insurance wouldn't pay for it... but anyway

i was wondering if anyone knows if these work good?
he said he will try me on this for about 6 weeks and or more and it's not looking better he will put me on accutane or w/e it's called hahahah

and is making me keep a log on when i take it and stuff that i don't rly want to do but yeah... anyway any words on these 2 meds would be good.

I've been taking once daily capsules, and they seem to help alot, i only get a breakout when it's my time of month, apart from the odd spot.
I'm from the UK, if that makes a difference to the products available.
I avoid dairy, but i do have milk with my cereal in the morning 5 days a week, but if you think thats damnaging my skin, please say so.
I drink orange juice alot because not only do I love it, but i heard vitamin C is good for the skin.
I use the 3 step anti blemish solutions from clinique (clenser, clarifying lotion and moisturiser) but have recently ran out of the clarifying lotion, and have actually noticed a pleasant change in my skin.
My dermotologist has told me that it would take around 4 month to see a significant differance in my skin, but my family and friends say it is coming on leaps and bounds, I myself can't really see it though.
I've done my research and know quite alot about skin, I know it doesn't help, but I wear concealer foundation and setting powder, which as my derm says, isn't ideal, but she wouldn't expect me to go to school with my skin in it's current condition without my makeup on.
I have quite a healthy diet, although possibly eat a little too much junk, but i've read that that doesn't make much difference.
I eat alot, but my bmi is just right, if anything a little to thin.
I have fair-ish teenage skin.
And I really do need help.
Acne isn't so much the main problem at the moment, it's the pigmented acne scars that have been the burden of my life for the last 6 month.
That's about everything I can think of about my skin, oh and my scars aren't off just the acne itself, i was stupid enough to pick them.

Again, I'm really sorry if this is in the wrong forum thing, i am new.

Since about 6th grade I have no had a clear face. I am now 17 years old and a senior in high school and my acne is as bad as it has ever been. In the past few years I have started to get acne in places that I had never gotten it before like my cheeks, chin, neck, and back. I've been to the dermatologist many times and have taken god knows how many medications and to tell ya the truth I really don't think they're doing any good because I haven't seen any improvements for a long long time. Here's what I do:

Morning:
-Shower and rinse face with Cetaphil
-Put Differin on
-Use lotion
-Take Solodyne pill
-Take Herbal supplements recommended to me for skin care (pantothenic acid, saw palmetto, zinc, and fish oils)

Night:
-Another shower and more Cetaphil
-Use Evoclin foam
-Use lotion


and that's basically it. I've been trying baking soda on my face while in the shower because I heard about it but that's not doing too much for me. Does anyone have any recommendations? Should I just start all over and do something else? or should I revise my way of doing it right now? Thanks.

Ladies & Gentleman..i just woke up and started thinking about my face and acne.org and how i wanted to share my story with everyone. Well let me start off by saying that I have had acne problems since 11th grade. Im now 23 years old (tomorrow is my 24th). Yes.. i experienced it all. Well anyway...during my 15 month tour in iraq...life was stressful at times and relaxing at times. Conditions were hot and dirty. Work related stress and battle stress affected me alot.

To deal with the stresses my boss and I would go to the gym once or twice a day when we can. Mostly cardio in the morning and weights in the afternoons/evenings or vice versa. We kept a really good clean diet most of the time and splurged sparingly. We drank alot of bottled water.. i mean i would drink atleast 4 or 5 34 ounce bottles because of our activities and the hot weather just for my body to stay hydrated. I got tired of washing and showering with just non potable water.

So one night i was on drugstore.com to research natural face wash but somehow i stumbled on Dickinsons Witch Hazel Towelletes. I cant say what a life saver this product really is. The cloth is large enough for your whole body if that is what u wanted to use it for. lol. I normally used it after a workout and right after a nice shower. But yes.. this is the one product i wished i have found during my beginning phases of acne so that i didnt have to waste all my freakin money on proactive, clean and clear, emu oil, and all of that other crap. Yes i used alot of CRAP! Even BP which i think has got to be bad for your and clothes! Dont forget the horrid AppleCiderVinegar. LOL


I do recommend Dickinson's Witch Hazel Towelletes. I use it atleast twice a day now.

One last thing...since the 23rd is my 24th birthday.. im hoping that my oil problems will slow down. Yes i believe that age heals everything. The older i get the less oil ill get.. i hope. Alright everyone thanks for reading. Oh yeah.. im not in iraq anymore Just returned from deployment. Thanks be to god. Im in germany and will be discharging in december and start my next phase in life.

Okay one last thing.. my advice to everyone is.. quit using everything! Go as natural as possible. Eat as clean and natural as possible. Workout & do cardio. Use Dickinsons WitchHazel Towelletes and hydrate. Hydration is key. I hope that my post will help someone.

anyone knows something about it and can recommend? so far i heard only good things...
here is some dead sea products i saw in the net for a good price-

Before I start logging about my daily acne woes and such I should give a history
I got acne in 5th grade and started Proactiv and used that through 6th grade. Proactiv seemed to help but then made my skin worse.. I tried all the OTC products nothing really helped I didn't know anything about skin and probably made it a lot worse just by picking and using wayy too strong cleansers and all that crap. Went to dermatologist in 7th grade. I tried a lot of products containing Benzoyl Peroxide. Then Retin-A Micro, Ziana, a bunch of shit I can't really recall all through 8th grade. I basically felt like a guinea pig and nothing was working my acne was pretty bad I had tons of zits and blackheads and I have the redmarks to show for it because I had a crazy picking problem [gross]
Umm freshmen year I was still on a lot of topicals and then maybe like 2nd quarter I got doryx antibiotics I don't know the full name sorry, but that reduced my spots but didn't help that much I went on Amoxicillin this May [freshmen year] that helped a lot and I was also on Tazorac and Finacea.
I still wasn't clear though and i kept breaking out so my dermatologist gave me two options Photodynamic Light Therapy [PDT] or Accutane [which was really overwhelming for me] and I had joined Acne.org and I researched both online an on the message boards here and I chose the PDT because it seemed less of a risk and less time but it costs a lot more money and I almost wish I did accutane because i would be almost over by now. I've done 3 treatments of the PDT and I don't have a lot of zits right now but my face is still red because I just got a treatment on monday so I'm looking foward/dreading when I see how my skin really is in a couple of days once the redness and peeling goes down [that's a normal side effect]. I have a shitload of redmarks on my cheeks and on my chin my forehead is clear for now.
I feel like my skin gets clear but then in a week or so it will break out again. I get so frustrated [sp?] because I am the only one in my big circle of friends that has this problem and I have been dealing with it for so long and I feel like I will never have clear skin.
I'm going into my sophmore year of high school and I don't really know what people generally log about but I think recording how my skin changes will help me learn what I am doing wrong and suchh hah.
Sorry if that bore you to death

Hi!
Today is day four of my Roaccutane treatment (40 mg/day) and I'll be writing a journal from now on. So let's start...

DAY 4
I think I'm starting to experience the side effects. My lips are a little bit dry (but I still don't need to use a chapstick), and the face is overall a little less oily. I also think that the 'initial breakout' is starting to kick in. Quite a few whiteheads emerged today on both of my cheeks and a few bigger pimples showed up on my neck. Additionally, I feel that many other whiteheads are on their way up to the surface. I'm prepared for the next few weeks to be quite nasty. However, I know that they won't matter in the long run
I see that I'm not the only one who started the Accutane treatment recently... We're all in the same boat now... hope we will make it quickly and safely to our goal

I've tried so many different regimens, antibiotics, accutane, cleansers up the wazoo (they keep stockpiling in my medicine cabinet), topicals etc. you've all heard it before. Though nothing but Accutane has worked for me (acne came back after 2 months of stopping however) I continue to have hope and perseverance to find my cure and hopefully help others along the way to find theirs.

My most recent SUPPLEMENT experiements:

Colon Cleanz: capsule form, Walmart, took for 6 days, i'm supposed to go back on after a week so i'll prolly start this again soon. didn't really notice any changes good or bad while on it for 1st week

Milk Thistle: designed to help the liver, not sure if it was coincidence or not but kept getting little zits while on this, maybe it was pushing things to the surface. however i haven't taken it for a few days and zits are still appearing so i'm going to say NOT HELPFUL for me

ACV: well i thought this did nothing for me while drinking it 2x a day 2-4tbsp. for 1 month
then i found out it doesn't work well when taking with fish oil so i'm going to give it another go and take it 4 hrs. apart from fish oil. i'll prolly drink it before bed.

Fish Oil: i've been taking this for 1 month. noticing much MUCH improvement in skin. i'm talking healthier, plumper, and glowing. i've been gradually increasing my intake. up to 3.5grams of EPA/DHA right now. my pills are extra strength so i only have to take 8 a day to achieve that versus some people having to cram like 12 pills in. still am breaking out but have recently learned 2 things about this stuff:

-don't take with fat-burning supplements like Green Tea Extract or ACV (i wait 4 hrs)
-takes anywhere from 3-6 months to really build up in your system so don't expect instant results

Green Tea Extract: honestly i don't know if this is helping me skin wise at all. it balances out my hormones, putting me in a good mood and very relaxed state though which is sweet. only problem is i'm down to 1 pill a day since i can't take it with fish oil. i just don't have enough hours in a day to space it out to take more so ah well.

B5: i think overdosing on this is NOT smart so i'm at a very safe intake right now of 1.5g. i feel that it helps with keeping my oil production down. however, since the weather is getting warmer, 1.5g is not really doing the trick anymore. i might double my intake if i can afford buying all these supplements.

Evening Primrose Oil: supposed to work well in conjunction with fish oil but i can't say for sure if the addition of it has helped at all. i'm taking 3 pills a day since 5/3. still looking into research for support of GLAs. lotta people recommend borage oil over epo. i'm going to use my bottle up and then switch to that probably.

and lastly i take a few vitamin supplements which i have learned do not get me clear but keep me functioning healthy:

-Multi Energy vitamin
-B-complex vitamin
-calcium

so these are my experiments with the supplements. next post i'll talk about my topical experiments incl. cleansers, moisturizers, and zit fighting medications. STAY TUNED hahhaha...yea i know i'm cheesy sorry

Hello everyone. In February I posted on this forum with severe acne (at least in me eyes) Back then I was using proactiv and tried a few prescription medications. None of them were really that effective, and proactiv actually made my face worse i'd never recommend that'd product to anyone.
Frustrated I saw this product called acnefree at cvs and the reviews on acne.org for the product were pretty favorable. So i decided to give it a try. I started this regimen in april and took one month off in the summer due to a training camp i had to attend. I'm not going to lie after a while i started to take it less and less seriously i was not at all strict with the regimen. Some days i would skip it at night if i was too tired and I by no means avoid soda, sugar, dairies, and all the foods you're supposed to avoid that make your acne worse. I also don't always drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day and i sleep well past 12:00 am. Anyways i'm just telling you all this to show you that this product did deliver favorably well and if you were more serious and did the whole avoiding the bad foods and sleeping early you will most likely experience better results.

Here's my original post from February of last year
http://www.acne.org/messageboard/years-neg...87#entry2192087

anyways here are some pics.

Before
http://inlinethumb13.webshots.com/44300/27...S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb17.webshots.com/41680/26...S600x600Q85.jpg

After
http://inlinethumb53.webshots.com/44532/26...S600x600Q85.jpg

Before
http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/40301/22...S600x600Q85.jpg

After
http://inlinethumb48.webshots.com/18223/29...S600x600Q85.jpg

Before
http://inlinethumb64.webshots.com/21631/24...S600x600Q85.jpg
http://inlinethumb08.web